Long Form

Long Form Journalism by the Bhekisisa Team

Apple of their eye: Sihle and his parents Jam-Jam Batiya and Beauty Mbalela.

The boy who lifts Hobeni’s spirits

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Sihle Batiya's luckier than most – but the odds are stacked against kids with Down's syndrome in the Eastern Cape.
Loveth was trafficked from Nigeria to Italy. Since PIAM was founded

Trafficked to Turin: The Nigerian women forced into sex work abroad in Italy

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Thousands of women are lured from Nigeria to Italy annually by the promise of a new life, only to find themselves trapped in the sex trade.
Undercover: Bhekisisa reporter Pontsho Pilane posed as a pregnant woman considering an abortion at the Amato Centre in Pretoria to learn about the pregnancy counselling it offers.

Pregnant? Need an abortion? Here’s where not to go

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Are faith-based NGOs breaking the law when they refuse to give women information on where to terminate their pregnancies?
A woman watches from her window as police look for evidence after 20-year-old Carlos Barron was shot and killed in Chicago. The city is still very racially segregated and has high rates of violence.

This slashed rates of violence by 70% in some areas. Could it work in...

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In many ways, violence is like cholera, passing from person to person and treating it in similar ways is working to reduce it.

From stranded to solitude: How the short-lived relief of repatriation could be people’s tipping...

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As South Africa enters level two of its national lockdown, international travel remains restricted. One of the few exceptions are repatriation flights, which require a mandatory quarantine period. But the toll of mounting stress and isolation may have long-term consequences on people’s mental health.
Emergency: The collapse of cancer care in public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal has resulted in patients having to wait for

KZN cancer patients sent home with panados as treatment waiting lists grow

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State cancer patients have nowhere to turn, even if their cancer is treatable.

PrEPing young women for the HIV prevention pill

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This tablet can help to protect the country's young women from contracting HIV.
A high proportion of Egypt’s population is blind or visually impaired but this does not stop them playing football. The ball rattles as it moves

Football like you’ve never seen it: On the pitch with this blind soccer team

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Blind football represents hope and belonging for Egypt's one million visually impaired.
Nigeria’s maternal mortality is high. But if mothers such as Oluwakemi Junaid won’t go to hospital

Old birth rites, new ways

When bringing a new life into the world risks taking another, even old traditions have to adopt new ways.

‘I would lie and listen to my pain’: The multitasking mavericks fighting for a...

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Morphine was first introduced to Uganda 30 years ago, but as the burden of cancer increases, thousands of people still lack access to even basic treatment for pain relief.
We really might be able to teach an old dog new tricks.

Can you turn yourself into a broccoli-loving, marathon-running genius?

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We used to believe our brains couldn’t be changed. Now we believe they can – if we want it enough. But is that true?

Teletubbies and friends: Inside the bizarre science behind your child’s favourite show

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What makes the world’s most successful children’s TV programmes so addictive – and so strange? Linda Geddes explores the research on kids’ TV, what...

If the price is right: The anti-HIV jab could be in clinics by August...

South Africa’s medicines regulator will announce a decision on the approval of a two-monthly HIV prevention jab within days. If the shot is approved, the health department could start rolling it out on a large scale within nine months — but that depends on the injection’s price.
Ebola has flared up again in the Democratic Republic of Congo

After Ebola: What happens when the virus fades and the NGOs — and money...

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Ebola wiped out nearly 10% of Liberia’s doctors and nurses. Take a look at life for those it left behind.
Edith Kanengoni is a peer educator — one of 10 women recruited and trained by the House of Smiles to help other street mothers get medical help and improve their parenting skills.

Raising hope: From street child to mother

Abandoned as children, women in Harare are now teaching one another to fight for their futures.
Members of the Women’s Network educate people on the harmful

​Uncut, unwed and cast out, but a better life awaited

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In rural Kenya, a group of strong-willed women is giving traumatised young runaways a second chance at life.